#he could crush me like Karim and my soul would ascend

[goldenwing57]

Shout-out to the team that designed him: congratulations, you have managed to design a character who makes it impossible to look away! Combined with Erik's smooth, deep, and silky voice for him... 👀👀👀👀

You'd think after this long I'd slowly stop ogling over Aaravos every time he's on screen

And you'd think wrong

[romanticsuspense]

The OA Part II: Theories, Thoughts, and Questions

I’ve finished watching Part II of The OA, and as can be expected, my brain has been whirring ever since.  Who is dead? Who is alive? And in what dimension? What new abilities were unearthed in Part II? What questions are still left unanswered?�� Here are my thoughts, theories, and questions.

Dimension 1 (D1)

French. I theorized in a previous post that I believe French is possibly a medium (because of the scene in 108 where he’s alone in the cafeteria, staring at the wind in the trees and a similar shot of him staring at the wind of the trees in 208).  As far as we know, at the end of Part II, French is still alive and well in Dimension 1.

Jesse overdoses on painkillers and dies.  Or does he?  I wonder if Jesse was able to transport himself to another dimension before he died.  He seemed desperate to escape, perhaps his will to leave was enough to fuel a jump to another dimension.  I also wonder, if Jesse wasn’t able to jump himself, maybe Steve going through the movements on the beach alone had an affect on Jesse.  Maybe Steve brought Jesse back to life?  Or maybe Steve helped fuel Jesse’s jump to another dimension?  Regardless of whether or not Jesse is truly dead in Dimension 1, we know his body is in some kind of deep sleep in Dimension 2, and we have no reason, yet, to think he won’t be alive in Dimension 3.  So, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of Jesse.

Buck. I’m not sure if we learn anything new about him in Part II. As far as we know, at the end of Part II, Buck is alive and well in Dimension 1.

BBA.  We learn that BBA can sense other dimensions, which is pretty cool.  I don’t think this makes her a “medium” which is what I’ve read some fans say.  I think she’s just unlocked rooms in her mind, which has allowed her to see and sense things that others can’t.  She’s also started having premonition dreams (as indicated by the bloody nose).  I definitely could be wrong about BBA not being a medium.  Nina has nose bleed premonition dreams, too, and she’s a medium.  But, does she have those dreams because she’s a medium?  I’m not sure.  It is interesting that both Nina and BBA have these special dreams.    

BBA: Before I met OA, I had resigned myself to missing certain things in life.  Certain emotional things, like Theo’s funeral, and like, well lots of things.  I thought life was too much for me.  But I was wrong.    

One thing that was really confusing to me for a while was Rachel’s message that it was only safe for BBA to go.  Then it occurred to me that Rachel had seen the boys in Hap’s pool with gardens growing out of their ears, so she was warning them not to travel to Dimension 2, because...who knows what would happen if the boys from D1 were to jump into the bodies of the sleeping tree boys in D2.

Remember also in Chapter 3, when they go to the medium’s house, and Rachel sends them the message over the TV...the image that BBA reaches for on the TV is actually the rose stained glass window in The House from D2.  SO...My theory is that in Part III, BBA will jump to D2, and help save the boys in the pool.  At some point while she’s in D2, she will also go to the rose stained glass window in The House.  Perhaps she will open the window and jump to D3?

Steve is desperate to leave Dimension 1 and gets the group all together to do the movements to follow OA to another dimension. I believe it is this will and determination that fuel Steve‘s jump to Dimension 3 in the final scene.  Steve is the only one to collapse and the way the scene was edited, it seems like he jumps to D3 at the same time that OA does. I think in Part III, Steve’s D1 body will be in some kind of coma because his soul has jumped to another dimension.

One theory I’ve seen floating around is that it was Homer who jumped into Steve’s body (Patrick Gibson in D3), but I don’t think this is possible.  There hasn’t been any evidence (that I’m aware of) in canon to suggest it’s possible to travel into the body of a different person.  OA is able to travel into Nina’s body and integrate with her because they are essentially the same person, just with forked paths.  And remember when OA threatens to bring her and Hap back to the dimension where they’re both dead?  That’s a real threat, because if their D1 bodies are dead, there’s really no body in D1 for them to jump into, so they would essentially be killing themselves.

Angie, I believe, is used mostly as a plot device in Part II. Her and Steve make a cute couple, but I think she’s mostly there so that when Jesse dies, they still have 5 people left in the group to do the movements. As far as we know, Angie is alive and well in D1 at the end of Part II. I’m sure she will be heartbroken when they learn Steve has jumped. Maybe she will help BBA in Part III to save the boys in D2?

Dimension 2 (D2)

Karim Washington.  Oh, Karim.  I hope we haven’t seen the last of him, because I love him and his beautiful face and his orange plaid jacket.  In Chapter 4, we learned from Old Night that Karim was sent by an unidentified “she” to protect OA.  (I’m assuming that Elias was sent to protect OA in Dimension 1.)  Karim was also referred to as OA’s “brother” so I think it’s also safe to assume that Karim is a fellow angel.  One question I still have about Karim, though, is why he isn’t aware of his mission to protect OA.  Elias seems to be knowledgeable of his role in OA’s life, so why isn’t Karim?  Also...Is Karim now the gatekeeper of the portal in The House?  Will Karim and BBA meet in Part III?  Who is the unidentified “she” that sent Elias and Karim to protect and help OA?  Is it Khatun?  Who is Khatun?

Nina/OA. We learn that Nina is a medium—she can communicate with the natural world. I’m assuming this is true of all Nina’s in all dimensions.  By integrating with Nina, OA becomes even more powerful.  In Chapter 8, she is able to turn the electricity to the clinic off and back on again.  OA also comes to the conclusion, after gaining Nina’s memories, that they’re different because OA has suffered in ways that Nina never did.

OA: Nina saw the whole world.  But I saw underneath it.  I was pressed down like coal.  I suffered.  That’s what an angel is.  Dust pressed into a diamond by the weight of this world.  

Out in the courtyard with Hap, OA shuts down the cube robots, tells Homer that they’re going to jump together, possibly to a dimension where she doesn’t know herself, and then she ascends.  There’s a lot of religious symbolism here that I will mention, but won’t try to unpack—She’s wearing all white and glowing, she appears to be ascending into heaven, Karim sees OA through the window and drops to his knees, and a dove flies out of the window and  right into some kind of interdimensional fabric, disrupting it enough to cause OA to fall.

I really hope “angels” are explained more in future parts.  Because it can’t just be suffering that makes someone an angel.  If that were the case, most people would be angels.  We all suffer.  What is an angel?  What makes OA the “original” angel?  Is an angel really just “dust crushed into a diamond by the weight of this world?”  If so, then are all of the boys and BBA angels, too?  Also, in Chapter 4, Old Night tells OA to tell the audience that she’s an angel, and OA tells the audience, “I am an interdimensional traveler.”  Does that mean all interdimensional travelers are angels?  

One of the reasons I actually like OA, and find her intriguing, is that even though she calls herself The Original Angel (pretentious, right?), she still feels very grounded and real to me.  I’m kind of hoping that OA does not become some kind of all powerful being.  I don’t think that’s where they’re heading with this—the tree made it clear to OA that she cannot do it alone—but I am very curious to see where they take OA’s character in Part III.

Dr. Roberts/Homer. Okay, so, Homer from D1 jumps into his D2 self, Dr. Roberts. But, Dr. Roberts has caged in and suppressed Homer, much like OA did to Nina, so he doesn’t have any memories from D1. But in the final chapter, he remembers who he is  integrates his two selves (this scene in the elevator when all the memories come rushing back was one of my favorites and the only time I teared up). So, he goes to find OA, punches Hap, who then in turn shoots him. Now it can be assumed that Dr. Roberts is dead, and Homer followed OA to D3. Also, Homer’s D1 and D2 bodies are dead, so if he didn’t make it to D3, then Homer is dead dead. But I don’t think they’d kill off Homer. So I expect to see Homer in D3 in Part III (where he will probably be known as Emory Cohen).

Dr. Percy/Hap.  Hap jumps to D2 along with Scott, Rachel, Renata, and Homer.  Hap creates an interdimensional map with the bodies of the teenagers that have gone through the house puzzle.  After Scott shares his NDE with Homer, who then shares it with Hap, Hap realizes that there’s a dimension he could travel to where “Prairie” doesn’t hate him.  

SCOTT: I was blinded by the bright lights.  The lights were everywhere.  We were in a warehouse.  I saw OA.  It was her...and not her.  And Hap didn’t call her OA, he called her Brin or somethin’.  He said somethin’ to her and she laughed and kissed him, like they were a couple.  There were cameras in the air, above them.  Hap called out to someone, but his voice was different.  He spoke with a...a British accent.  And then, a older woman, heavyset, comes up behind me and says, “I’m here to give you the third movement.”

So, Hap convinces Scott to go through the house puzzle, then eats the petals that blossom out of Scott’s ears to help guide him to D3.  I think Hap’s motivations are still influenced by scientific curiosity, but his infatuation (not love, if Hap really loved her he wouldn’t lock her up) with Prairie definitely influences his choices the most.  He could stay in D2 and continue doing outlandish experiments funded by Ruskin, but he chooses to leave, because he wants “Prairie” as his partner, and he believes that’s what they’ll be in Scott’s NDE dimension.  I also think it’s very interesting that Hap never integrates with Dr. Percy in D2.  He always seems one step behind OA.  I think that’s mostly due to the fact that he’s “working” alone, while OA relies on the help and support of others.

Rachel.  I wish she hadn’t died so early on in Part II.  I read a theory that Rachel is mute in D2 because D1 Rachel needed her voice, so she had to steal it from a Rachel in another dimension.  I really like this theory because it suggests that there has to be some kind of balance between the dimensions.  And it fits in with what Elodie told OA about “echoes” across the dimensions.  It makes me wonder if a Nina in a different dimension lost her sight after OA was given her sight back in D1?

Renata.  Did Renata remember about D1 the whole time and just pretend to Dr. Roberts that his therapy was working?  Because when she sees Homer trapped in the elevator she asks him if he’s Homer or Dr. Roberts.  It’s almost like she was waiting for Homer to emerge to acknowledge what he did to her, tricked her into a cage.  Renata was given the fourth movement in an NDE, so I imagine we’ll get more Renata in Part IV, if they travel to that dimension next.

I hope we see more of both Rachel and Renata in later Parts.  I want to see more of the original 5 captive “angels” together.

Michelle makes it through the game, to the attic where she opens the rose stained glass window and jumps into her Dimension 3 self (the actor Ian Alexander). While her soul is stuck in D3, Michelle’s D2 body is in a coma. Karim then makes it to the attic where he opens up the rose stained glass window and reaches out and pulls Michelle’s soul back to her D2 body, and Michelle is reunited with her grandmother.

Scott, Steve, Jesse, and French are all “locked in a sleep” in Hap’s interdimensional map garden pool. At first I thought they must be dead, but then BBA said, “In exactly this place, in another dimension, your bodies are here, but they’re locked in a sleep.”  I wonder if it’s a coma similar to what the Engineer and Michelle experienced, while their souls were in a different dimension? Perhaps the blooms are links to the dimensions that each individual person jumped to when they opened the window—a way for their loved ones to find them and follow them, like breadcrumbs.  We only see Hap eat Scott’s blooms, which correspond to his NDE (Dimension 3).  If Hap were to eat a petal from Steve’s brain, would it also be from D3, or another dimension?  Also...Scott’s petals are white, while Steve’s, Jesse’s and French’s are all red.  What does that mean??

Dimension 3 (D3)

So, in the last few minutes of Part II, we get a glimpse of Dimension 3, where I’m assuming the majority of Part III’s action will take place. We know Hap, OA, and Steve all jumped into their Dimension 3 selves, but no one else is confirmed, yet.  We know that Homer intended to follow OA, but we haven’t seen him in Dimension 3.  I think Scott must be in D3, as well, and I’m pretty sure that he jumped there when he went through the house puzzle and opened the rose window in the attic.

If OA, Hap, Homer and Steve are all in Dimension 3, and Part III will take place in D3, I think one of the main conflicts in Part III will be “Brit” refusing to acknowledge or accept that she’s OA.  And Homer and Steve will be trying their best to convince her.            

The Story of The House

RUSKIN (ON THERAPY TAPE W/DR. PERCY): The house was built in 1910, after the earthquake, by this childless couple in their 40′s.  He was an engineer and his wife was a medium.  [...] And the medium sensed that there was something strange about this site.  And she was right.  As they were preparing to lay the foundation for the new house, they discovered this natural spring.  It turns out, this spring used to be the holy site of the Ohlone tribe, and the waters were said to give the Shamans a God’s-eye view.  The medium felt that they should not build on this site, but the engineer, he disagreed.  He thought that, since they had discovered the spring, it was their duty to protect it.  How do you protect a spring?  You design a house that is a puzzle.  The worthy will reach the revelations on the other side of the rose window in the attic.  And the unworthy will be trapped and destroyed.  Lore has it that the engineer based the design of the house on his wife’s nightly dreams.  When the house was finally built, and they moved in together, the engineer began to want to solve the puzzle himself, from beginning to end.  But his wife advised against it, saying they were only meant to be gatekeepers.  But the engineer, he couldn’t resist his desire.  Gatekeepers to what?  [...] But, the medium returned one day from her monthly meeting to find her husband had collapsed in the attic.  The rose window, hanging wide open.  She, of course, she saw only the view of Nob Hill on the other side of the window, for she had walked through the house as a house.  She had not ascended through the puzzle to reach the attic.  She suspected, however, that her husband had, and he was now lost to whatever he had seen on the other side of the rose window.  No doctor in the world could revive the engineer from his coma.  But his wife was convinced that someone would show up someday, be able to solve the puzzle and withstand the view from the rose window.  Maybe even rescue her husband.  But no one ever did.  He died many years later, never having woken up.  

Interdimensional Travel

We learned quite a bit about interdimensional travel in Part II:

You don’t have to die to jump. The Engineer, Michelle, and possibly the boys in the garden pool, all jumped to other dimensions without dying. Their bodies just slipped into a coma.

There are multiple modes of travel, you don’t have to do the 5 movements.  You can have tiny cube robots do the movements.  Or you can have giant cube robots do the movements.  OR you can travel through a portal—through spaces...

ELIAS: Space, good.  What is a space?  A house?  A school?  A church?  Motel?  A clinic?  Part of you knows.  Part of you has always known, hasn’t it? BBA: I...saw something in the TV.  Something I was afraid to admit.  We were in that room, but others were, too.  Even right now, I can feel the truth of it.  We’re not alone in this room.  That’s how they’re connected, isn’t it?  The dimensions.  Through spaces?  ELIAS: [Nods] Now you’ve got what you need.  

When you jump into an alternate self, you can integrate with them. One question I still have about this integration...when OA jumps out of Nina’s D2 body, does Nina remember her experiences as OA/Nina? Does Nina retain any of OA’s memories? Does OA retain any of Nina’s memories?

You can’t, as far as we know, jump into the body of another being or person.

Will is the fuel needed to jump. (Can anyone travel to other dimensions, if they have the will?)    

The Skin Store

I know the giant talking octopus was a big deal to a lot of folks, but I personally can’t stop thinking about Homer’s dream at the beginning of Chapter 5.  This show strikes a perfect balance between creepy and erotic.

I have skin.  All textures.  All shades.  For a price.

Once Homer buys the skin, what is he supposed to do with it?  Wear the skin?  Or is it just for touching, smelling...and licking?  At first I thought, when Homer licked the skin, that his dream was somehow connected to Nina’s dream that was on one of the tapes that Nina/OA and Karim listened to. So I went back to that episode and listened again, and the only similarities between the two dreams are the licking.  

I’m lying down, and the sun is so bright.  Sweat beads on my skin.  I’m not wearing anything.  There is no wind, so the sweat sits there like bubbles.  I feel a tongue run down the back of my leg.  Another in my ear.  The tongues are collecting the sweat.  They know my body is printing secrets in salt.  A tongue enters my ass.  

Is the licking significant? Were the dreams connected somehow?

Also, the actress Cynthia Mace, is credited on IMDb as the Skin Store Proprieter (LMFAO) and Evelyn Markham, the sheriff's wife who gave Homer and OA the fifth movement in 108.  Is there symbolism there?  Or is it just that Evelyn is a significant person from Homer’s past, and so she is creeping into Dr. Robert’s dreams?

Final Thoughts

I really loved Part II, just as much, if not more than, Part I. I read a couple of critic reviews that said this show is just too weird to be successful for long and I gotta say that’s complete bologna. This show is weird, yes, but it’s also visually stunning, adventurous, and deep. If you look at the show on just the surface, all you will see are a giant octopus, a haunted house, talking trees, etc. But it’s so much more than that. The OA is an exploration of the invisible (invisible self, invisible river...).  I think one of the prominent messages of the show is that we all have this weirdness inside of us but we suppress it. But if we were to open our minds, the possibilities are endless. Like OA told Dr. Roberts, she asked Homer to believe impossible things. Homer believed because he kept his mind open and he listened. Our dreams are talking to us. The universe is talking to us.  But we have to listen.  Leave your door open, and let the weirdness in.